Taking the Time for Proper EHR Implementation

Deciding when to implement an EHR is perhaps the most important decision that a medical practice can make.   Providers of all sizes who have gone through an electronic health record implementation say the process works best when practices take the time to do it correctly.  Practitioners need to know that a methodical EHR implementation is preferable to a rushed one.  Some organizations, for example, have been at it for six years and are still not done.  So if you go too fast, your productivity will undoubtedly suffer.

Furthermore, no EHR implementation can succeed if the IT staff does not take the time to show doctors how the EHR system works. For small providers, this should be accomplished in small, even one-on-one, training sessions.

Ultimately, providers starting with a brand-new EHR system or switching EHR vendors should plan to lose at least 25% of their productivity for a while, or maybe for several weeks or even months, most experts say. Understand that this is a cost of doing business, and adjust your appointment booking to reflect it. Some physicians and staffers learn more quickly than others, but many find that eventually they are more productive with a new EHR system optimized to their workflow, so in the end they make up for lost time.

Remember to leave enough time to have your paper medical charts imported into your EHR.  ScanWorks can assist in this aspect of EHR implementation.  We are document scanning professionals.  Please call ScanWorks at 330-322-2988 for further information or for a free sample scan of your records.  Or click here for a Quik Quote.